A spot for me to blog on life in my garden, where I grow things, read things, drink tea and ponder. An important principle for me is living a simple life - to live simply so that others may simply live

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

When we picked her up at the shelter, she was timid and shy. She came home as a companion for our aging Pepper. She was named by an Aboriginal friend of ours. Jindii Mirrii meaning sister dog. She truly was a sister for Pepper. She came out of her shell, and developed her own style .. while remaining slightly quirky... was an ever present companion.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

It's been ages since I've done a book review, and look at this.... too many to remember... but I'll give you a very quick snapshot of where I'm up to.

Victoria the Queen.. this is a big book. I haven't finished it by any means, but I am enjoying it. I'm at a new place in my reading life, and its actually ok to not finish something from start to end in one sitting and its ok to just read a little bit at a time.. this book is progressive so I'm just at the point when Victoria has been crowned and has a strong crush on her prime minister.. what happens next? I dont know yet...

Perfect reading for when I was 2 weeks post op and pretty shallow in my thinking and concentration .. I actually devoured this light and easy story... a story of love, change, friendship and creativity.

Also in my post op period, the improbability of love was a little more than an easy read, but also engaging. Its the story of a painting, sort of a who dunn it storyline. The painting even gets his own chapters.. its a novel full of characters, which can take some time to get to know, but evetually i got into it. Love or not, i think the painting won.

Something a little more meaningful, Pachinko is the story of a Korean family through the generations. Starting from humble beginings pre 1900 in a rural village, through the daughters eventual migration to Japan through the war years. Her new family and their struggles in a post war Japan, with no option of returning to Korea, they make a good name for themselves. Grandsons end up studying in the US, returning to their famly base in Japan. A fascinating perspective on Japan...

This is a collection on essays, and again something I'm just reading a bit of at a time. Its from 15 different writers who explore what it means to be black, asian and minority ethnic in Britain (but probably many other western nations) in todays climate.

Ah, Lilly Brett.... I've loved all her books. Australian author, daughter of Haulocaust survivors, now living in New York... this is a collection of snippits from her life there. Funny and fast. Im mixing this up with the other more heavy reads I have on the go at the moment.